Radioactive Boars on the rise in Germany

This is an interesting legacy from the Chernobyl disaster where the wild boars in Germany are eating food that has high levels of radioactivity.

As Germany’s wild boar population has skyrocketed in recent years, so too has the number of animals contaminated by radioactivity left over from the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown.

via A Quarter Century after Chernobyl: Radioactive Boar on the Rise in Germany – SPIEGEL ONLINE – News – International.

Apparently, mushrooms and truffles, which the hogs like to eat, are “particularly efficient at absorbing radioactivity.”

via Nearly 25 Years After Chernobyl Disaster, Germany Beset By Radioactive Boars : The Two-Way : NPR.

From the first article link it appears that the wild boars in general are a problem with the article noting some of the recent headlines.

Stories of marauding pigs hit the headlines with startling regularity: Ten days ago, a wild boar attacked a wheelchair-bound man in a park in Berlin; in early July, a pack of almost two dozen of the animals repeatedly marched into the eastern German town of Eisenach, frightening residents and keeping police busy; and on Friday morning, a German highway was closed for hours after 10 wild boar broke through a fence and waltzed onto the road.

Ah the fun of wild animals, boars are at least a little more interesting, here in Minnesota the most common road nuisance is Deer. I was most amused and hope the man is alright by the headline from the Berlin park.

Image from NPR piece, Timm Schamberger/AFP/Getty Images

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.